Holiday music played lightly overhead as groups of students gathered around tables, talking and customizing their own books. 

On Thursday, Academic Initiatives hosted its biannual Build-A-Book event at ISR. Each semester, on Reading Day, Academic Initiatives puts together an event for students to de-stress before finals and learn to bind their own books. This event is one of many Reading Day activities held at the University. 

Students crowded around tables filled with supplies to find the perfect stickers and ribbons for their books. Grabbing a needle, thread, paper and some glue, students then headed to their own tables to create customized journals. 

While some students started creating books without a set theme in mind, others had a set plan. Freshman in LAS, Sara Dechiara, grabbed all the decorations she would need to execute her plan perfectly. 

“I’m using mostly red, white and black,” Dechiara said. “I’m going for an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ kind of vibe. I’m really hoping that works out well.”

Dechiara learned about the Build-A-Book event through an advertisement on the TV in her dining hall. After learning about the event, she invited freshman in LAS, Geniyah Paget, to join her in building a book.

Paget was happy she agreed to come with her after seeing snacks, supplies and the chance to de-stress before finals. While reading day can be used for studying and prepping for final exams, it also provides students with a well-earned break from classwork and tests. 

Paget doesn’t have many finals, but she still has work to do for classes, and she’s already put a lot of time into classes all semester. This opportunity provided a way to have one low-stress task before diving straight into final projects. 

“I only have two finals that I’m worried about,” Paget said. “Spanish has been awful all year, and communication is a long final that we have to make.”

Part of the reason this event was created was to provide students with a fun activity in the middle of all their studying. 

According to senior in LAS, Norah Fadell, the event originated with the preservation services at residence hall libraries. They taught Fadell’s boss how to do bookbinding and from there Academic Initiatives carried out the event for a few years.  

Much like the event, Fadell also started in the residence hall libraries, where she worked among a team of student workers before the role was dissolved two years ago. After the residence hall libraries were disbanded, their boss took team members with them to her new role in Academic Initiatives.

Now, Fadell and five others serve as program directors for Academic Initiatives. They assist in running the resource center, checking out books for university housing workers and planning events.

Since freshmen normally attend the Academic Initiatives’ events, Fadell gets to see new groups of students at each event, which is one of her favorite parts of her job. 

“I’ve loved getting to work with the students, especially freshmen on campus,” Fadell said. “As I’ve aged, it’s been so nice to see the new crop of students.”

Outside of Build-A-Book, Academic Initiatives also hosts a few fun events throughout the academic year, including trivia and craft nights. Fadell finds that these craft nights tend to draw in the most students. 

Build-A-Book is the perfect example of this; it’s a spot where book lovers and crafters come together and bond over creating their own masterpieces. Since the event takes place when students don’t have class, it allows for more time and larger crowds. 

“It’s a longer event than our normal events,” Fadell said. “It’s two hours, and it does pull a lot of students on Reading Day because no one has classes, and it’s a big end-of-semester celebration.”

While the event may not be your typical celebration, it still serves as a point for students to relax after all the hard work they’ve been doing this semester. Academic Initiatives provides an inviting atmosphere for students to gather and explore their creativity before finishing out the semester. 

“Since classes ended yesterday, it’s a nice way to de-stress before eventually jumping headfirst into finals,” Dechiara said. 

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